News / National
CIO agents supplied rhino poachers with AK47, arrested
05 Jan 2016 at 02:18hrs | Views
A CENTRAL Intelligence Organisation operative based in Masvingo - Mudenge Munashe Mugwira has been dragged to court on four counts of killing rhinos valued at $480 000 and selling the horns to private buyers in Zambia.
Mugwira is among the five-member syndicate arrested alongside Tavengwa Machona (39) and Jason Chisango, who are being separately tried on the same charge.
Mugwira (36) allegedly supplied guns to the syndicate.
He was arrested by police when they raided a flat between 4th Avenue and Samuel Parirenyatwa Street, where Munashe Mugwira late December.
They are facing a charge of contravening Section 45 (1) (a) of the Parks and Wildlife Act.
The other two, Chris Kombayi and Dumisani Moyo, have evaded arrest and are on the run.
Machona was last Friday slapped with a 35-year jail term by Masvingo magistrate, Langton Ndokera.
Mugwira and Chisango are awaiting trial.
According to NewsDay, the court heard that the gang first struck at Sango Valley Conservancy on February 10, 2014, armed with an AK47 rifle and shot a rhino before de-horning it.
They also returned 12 days later and gunned down three rhinos.
However, they ran out of luck on December 29 when they were arrested while trying to shoot other rhinos in the sanctuary.
The suspects later assisted police detectives to recover the carcasses.
Zimbabwe is battling to save its few hundred remaining black and white rhino amid an upsurge in poaching in 2015. The Tikki Hywood Trust, which is well-known for its work rehabilitating endangered pangolins, described the sentence as "a great victory for Zimbabwe".
"Congratulations to all departments involved from the ZRP (Zimbabwe Republic Police), to Parks, the magistrates together with the public prosecutors who were involved in ensuring that justice was served," the trust said in a post to Facebook.
Mugwira is among the five-member syndicate arrested alongside Tavengwa Machona (39) and Jason Chisango, who are being separately tried on the same charge.
Mugwira (36) allegedly supplied guns to the syndicate.
He was arrested by police when they raided a flat between 4th Avenue and Samuel Parirenyatwa Street, where Munashe Mugwira late December.
They are facing a charge of contravening Section 45 (1) (a) of the Parks and Wildlife Act.
The other two, Chris Kombayi and Dumisani Moyo, have evaded arrest and are on the run.
Machona was last Friday slapped with a 35-year jail term by Masvingo magistrate, Langton Ndokera.
Mugwira and Chisango are awaiting trial.
According to NewsDay, the court heard that the gang first struck at Sango Valley Conservancy on February 10, 2014, armed with an AK47 rifle and shot a rhino before de-horning it.
They also returned 12 days later and gunned down three rhinos.
However, they ran out of luck on December 29 when they were arrested while trying to shoot other rhinos in the sanctuary.
The suspects later assisted police detectives to recover the carcasses.
Zimbabwe is battling to save its few hundred remaining black and white rhino amid an upsurge in poaching in 2015. The Tikki Hywood Trust, which is well-known for its work rehabilitating endangered pangolins, described the sentence as "a great victory for Zimbabwe".
"Congratulations to all departments involved from the ZRP (Zimbabwe Republic Police), to Parks, the magistrates together with the public prosecutors who were involved in ensuring that justice was served," the trust said in a post to Facebook.
Source - Chronicle additional reporting by Bulawayo24.com
